Born on March 18th, 1981, Portmore,
Jamaica, Ricardo Renford Nicholson, better known by
his stage nameMerchant (aka
Musicaly Merchant), is an award-winning
Jamaicanreggae superstar and dancehall deejay with a wide range of versatile and flamboyant styles. He is known
for his diverse and powerful lyrics.

BiographyEarly life and
career

Nicholson grew up in Manchester where he attended Kayda
Primary School and later on moved to the Kingston Spanish Town Garrison Water House
continued his education at Drew’s Avenue All Age School. At age of 15, he moved
to the coastal city of Portmore in southern Jamaica in Saint Catherine Parish
and furthered his schooling at Waterford Comprehensive High School.

Music is inherently rooted in Nicolson’s family’s blood. He
is the nephew of well-known singer, Derrick Parker, who is famous throughout
Jamaica for hits such as “Dem Nuh Loyal No More,” “Bus Mi Appeal,” “How Long,” and “Jah Never Fail Wi Yet.” Merchant’s
interest in singing began while was at Drew’s Avenue All Age School. He started
singing at school concerts. While he was a student at Waterford, he and his
peers would hold their own concerts during the lunch break, beating rhythms on
the desk and carrying out deejay battles with each other. To his credit, it put
him on a productive tract.

2000sAs a young adult, Merchant resided in Portmore
where he had lots of musical influence and mentorships from artists such as “Bounty
Killer”, “Mad Cobra,” “Frisco Kid,” “Singer J and Indica.” In 2004, he was
encouraged by Indica to enter the B-mobile Portmore talent search and placed first
runner up to Roots Reggae phenom Gyptian known worldwide for ““Hold Yuh", "Serious
Times," "Mama," and "Beautiful Lady.” In that same year, he
performed at his first major event, “The West Kingston Jamboree” where world
class dancehall talent such as Vybz Kartel and Mavado are regulars. His debut at this event was a major success. It
resulted in his becoming a recording artist. As a star, Merchant was born that minute.

Merchant currently, boasts hit singles such as “Move
Out Mi Tings”, “Joe Grind”, Never Walk Away”, “Gud Gud Gud”, and “Summer Time”. Even though he is on their levels, he considers
himself a humble hybrid of Sean Kingston, Lil’ Wayne, and Vybz Kartel. In
2012, he released the

Merchant-the
Musically Abusicaly Wise a.k.a Dj Vybz is a Super star in the reggae and
dancehall music industry. With his wide range of lyrics, flamboyant and
versatile styles, he is definitely an artist to watch for the near future. This
hard working and determined dancehall artist is an household name on the
Jamaican and Caribbean Dancehall scene.